His Damsel In Distress
by xX-PJ-and-Jo-Xx
Summary: NEW Chapter Added! PJ&Jo fic with Tess&Jonesy thrown in for good measure! True feelings are exposed, and acted upon...but who will deal with the consequences? Please R&R! Rating For Later Chapters.
1. Unwanted

**Disclaimer: **No i don't own any of the characters, i'm not in contact with any of the cast, you know the usual blah...

Here we are! My first fanfic! Now, i'm still in the process of finishing this story, so bear with me!

Ok Lights, Camera, Action:

**His Damsel In Distress**

"Morning Jo," Tess said as she walked into the station. "How's the paper work going?"

"Why do we have to do it Tess? Why? I swear I'm going to hunt down and kill the idiot that invented paper work!" Jo groaned.

"No, please don't…then I'd have to arrest you for murder." Tess grinned.

"It would have been well worth it!" Jo laughed.

"Hello, how are you all today?" said PJ walking out of his office.

There was a chorus of 'Fine' and 'Good Thanks' from everybody in the station. Jo blushed ever so slightly and kept her head down. She'd had feelings for PJ for a while now and she was beginning to think he might have feelings for her too. The only problem was how to go about telling him. She couldn't work together with PJ if he knew because there was a strong possibility that her love was unrequited, but she couldn't stand to work without him either.

Then Jo said "Hey what are you going to be- " but she stopped mid-sentence as Tom stuck his head out of his office.

"Work, people. I don't care if you chat and work at the same time but work has to come into it, you know…we're not here just for the fun of it." He gave them a weary smile.

"That's one of us then." Jo mumbled under her breath.

"What was that Jo?" Tom asked.

"Oh, nothing just…just…" she cast around in her head for something to say. "…just wondering where Ben is. He's not usually late, you see."

The others grinned.

Tom wasn't convinced but he just retreated back into his office.

Just then, Ben walked through the door looking a bit flustered.

"Whoa, that was close, mate." Jonesy chuckled. "You nearly got sacked by Senior Sergeant "It's Time To Work"!" Jonesy said, mocking Tom.

Ben just rolled his eyes. "The kids were playing up a bit this morning."

Just then the phone rang, Tess answered it. "Hello Mt. Thomas Police Station, how may I help? Yes, can you please slow down, I can't understand what your trying to-, are you in a safe place? Yes Ok, where? Alright I'm sending someone around right away." She hung up the phone. "Ok guys, reported burglary at Mrs Guthry's house. The crook is still in the house and she says he has a gun." Tess said quickly. "Jonesy, you're with me. Jo, stand-by please."

"Right-o." Jo said un-enthusiastically, sitting down at the computer.

Tess and Jonesy made their way out of the station in a hurry leaving Ben and Jo alone in the office.

"Why the long face Jo?" Ben asked.

"Huh? What? Oh…nothing. It's just that I seem to be finding myself sitting here on 'stand-by' while everyone else is out on duty."

"I'm here aren't I?" said Ben in would-be-hurt tone.

"Well yeah but you were out all day yesterday on that case with PJ, weren't you?" She said, ignoring his humour.


	2. A Little Problem

**Disclaimer: **No i don't own any of the characters, i'm not in contact with any of the cast, you know the usual blah...

* * *

At that moment PJ came out of his office and said, "Jo, can you help me with something please?"

"Um, well…I'm supposed to be here on stand-by for Tess…she might need back-up…" Jo said, looking over at Ben. She was scared that PJ might have been able to read her emotions in her eyes if she looked at him for too long.

"Hey, I can do that Jo," said Ben. "You go help PJ and I'll just sit here all alone by my boring self." He smiled and gave a nod, indicating for Jo to follow PJ into his office. She managed a smile, which was only a fraction of what she was truly feeling.

Once they we're inside, PJ closed the door. He walked across the room and sat at his desk, Jo sat down in the chair opposite him.

"Well, you see, it's about this report you just filed on the stolen car from last week. There's some stuff missing and I think you may have made some mistakes." PJ said calmly, looking up slowly as he did so to watch her face.

Jo looked sceptical. She was sure that the file was fine, she'd even stayed and put some work over-time into it. She got up out of her chair and walked around the desk. As she bent over the desk for a better look at the paper, PJ could smell the most entrancing fragrance. Jo picked up the file from out of PJ's hands and walked back around the desk to her seat. PJ was preoccupied with the beautiful smell, only woken from this reverie by Jo, herself.

"Seems fine to me PJ…but if you'd like, I could take a closer look at it later?" she asked him, studying his face. She loved the way his eyes were perfect, the way his mouth was perfect, the way his smile made her feel butterflies every single time…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Both looked up.

Ben opened the door and stepped inside the office. "PJ, Jonesy's just called for backup. He and Tess managed to get the fire-arm off the guy but he had two friends in a getaway car who've just joined in. One of them has already attacked Mrs. Guthry. This is one burglary-turned-ugly."

"Oh I better go with you then," said Jo immediately, standing up.

"Ah, no. No need, Tom wants to come with me. You two can stay here. Well, we're off. See ya." And with that, he and Tom were gone.


	3. Anger Hurts

**Disclaimer: **No i don't own any of the characters, i'm not in contact with any of the cast, you know the usual blah...

* * *

Jo sat right back down in her seat and glared at the back wall of PJ's office. Once again, she was not needed. Once again she was stuck here. She opened the report once, and then closed it again. She'd do it later tonight, no hurry now. She turned around to face PJ, who by now was back in his seat, and put the report back on his desk. Well, she actually pretty much slammed it down with just a bit too much force than was intended. In doing so, a photo frame slid off the desk and onto the floor, where it smashed.

"God! I'm so sorry PJ! Wait, I'll fix it up," Jo said in a hurried voice, shocked at what just happened and completely forgetting her previous anger.

"No, you stay there, I don't want anything else broken!" He said with a laugh. He walked out of the room and got a brush and pan, returning quickly to sweep up the shattered fragments of glass. Jo felt a bit embarrassed now, not shocked nor angry. 'Oh no,' she thought to herself. 'Now what's he going to think of me?'.

PJ, who didn't look nearly half as concerned about the photo as Jo did, set to work sweeping away the glass. When he'd finished all that remained on the floor was the photo frame, face-down on the floor. PJ stood up and walked out of the room to empty the shards of glass from the pan. Jo picked up the photo frame and, in doing this, cut the front of her finger on an undetected piece of glass from underneath the frame.

"Shit!" she cursed. She'd got quite a cut, and from such a tiny piece of glass that it surprised her. It was proving to be a very painful cut at least and, hearing her shout, PJ came back into the room.

"Jo, Jo are you ok?" he said concern spread all over his face.

"Yeah I'm fine, just a small cut, nothing I haven't handled before." She said in a brave voice, though the pain must have severed through her words because PJ wasn't convinced.

"Look, why don't we get that cleaned up, you're bleeding." He said in a soothing voice. He moved her back into the other room and fished out the First Aid Kit.

"I'm fine PJ!" said Jo, a little more forcefully this time.

"I know, I know…I just don't want you getting hurt." PJ said quickly, fumbling around in the First Aid Kit. Jo went a light shad of scarlet at this. She thought, 'Why is he so worried about my cut? It's nothing! He's making such a big deal about it…and why doesn't he want me getting hurt? Does he like me? Does he like me a lot? Does he maybe…love me?...Shut up Jo, of course he doesn't love you.'

"There we go…" PJ said a few minutes later, once Jo's cut had been cleaned and covered, totally unaware to what thoughts were going through Jo's mind.

"Thanks PJ, but I could have done it myself." Jo said feeling a bit like a damsel in distress.

"No doubt you could have, but it's not as easy with only one hand." PJ smiled, which sent Jo into the best of spirits. She couldn't help but smile too, as bandaged and embarrassed as she was.

"True, True…although I never picked you as a Medic…" Jo teased.

"Hey, some pretty good looking guys are doctors." He said pointing his finger at her in a 'and don't you forget' way.

She grinned and sat back down at her desk, heartily agreeing with this last statement on PJ's part, and not paying too much attention to what happened for the rest of the day.

* * *

What do you think? Please R&R!

The little buttons just over there... :D


	4. That Damn Paper Work!

**Disclaimer: **No i don't own any of the characters, i'm not in contact with any of the cast, you know the usual blah...

Ok Lights, Camera, Action:

The next day, Jo sat at her desk and looked around for the report she'd filed on the stolen car from last week, the one that PJ wasn't satisfied with. It was late in the morning and after lifting up a few piles of neglected paper, she found it. Jo skimmed through it a few times, and came to the conclusion that it was, as she had thought before, perfectly fine.

She knocked on PJ's door. "PJ?"

"Come in…" PJ said, his voice muffled through the door.

Jo walked in, sat down, and handed him back the file. "There's nothing wrong with it, PJ." She said with conviction.

"No, I didn't really think there was." PJ said with a chuckle.

"Then why bother telling me there is?" Jo said, utterly perplexed.

PJ stood up from his desk and walked around to where Jo was sitting. "Well, how else was I supposed to get your attention with out every other pair of ears listening in, too?" He said with a smile.

Jo looked up at him curiously, though secretly catching on. She stood up, her face merely inches away from PJ. "What for?" She nearly whispered the words.

"This." And with that, he kissed her. Jo felt a somersault somewhere in the region of her stomach, but she kissed PJ back with just as much fire.

After what seemed like hours and hours of absolute bliss, they broke apart.

"Peej!" Jo said softly. "How come…what did…why didn't you tell…" but she couldn't get the words out.

"Shhh," PJ whispered, putting a finger to her lips. "I love you, Jo." He kissed her again, and yet again she kissed him back with equal passion.

"You…love…me…?" she said still totally stunned, in between his kisses. "Well, I guess that suits me fine," she said with a grin, putting her arms around his neck. "…because PJ, for the last…I dunno how long…you're the only thing that's been on my mind…and I am quite happy to say that…I love you too."

She couldn't believe it. She'd said it. Ok, so she might've rambled on a bit…but all was forgotten. The only thing that mattered was the equalled declarations that were now out in the open.

"Jo. My place. 5 minutes." Said PJ quickly. Jo turned away from him to the door, her hand was on the doorknob when PJ strode over to her, spun her around and pinned her to the door. "Oh, and another thing…" She kissed him first this time, before he had even finished speaking. His hands moved down to her waist and he began a loving assault on her neck.

Jo couldn't help from giggling but said, "PJ? Your house? 5 minutes?"

"Right, how could I forget?" and he let her out the door.


	5. Getting The Lunches

**Disclaimer: **No i don't own any of the characters, i'm not in contact with any of the cast, you know the usual blah...

I probably won't write much more if people don't review...coz it kinda gives me the impression that either no one's reading it...or that no one likes it! Haha, so please, please review...good or bad...I'd like to get at least a few more reviews:P

Jo walked straight out of the door, held open by PJ, and headed for her desk.

"How about you take some Panadol, Jo?" he said, giving her a subtle wink.

After some quick thinking, Jo saw where PJ was heading. "Oh, yeah, I might just do that. After all, this headache is only getting worse. God, it's even started to affect my paperwork, eh PJ?" she said, with just the right amount of distress in her voice to make Tess look up.

"Well, Jo, maybe you should go home? If it's stopping you in your paperwork, I don't want to take any risks with you out on patrol with Jonesy in half an hour…I think he can stir up enough trouble as it is, by himself!" Tess said, a bit concerned for Jo. They had become a lot closer in the last few months and were beginning to get along well, as friends. 'What other choice do we have, being the only females in an office full of male ego?' she remembered Jo saying a couple of weeks ago.

"Thanks for that, sarge!" Jonesy replied with a chuckle.

"Anytime, hot stuff." Tess said, surprising even herself with her remark. Blushing ever so slightly, she turned away from Evan and turned to PJ.

"Um…how about you…ah…give Jo a lift home PJ? I'll just let the boss know you're off." Tess said to an inwardly grateful PJ. He made a face as to suggest he really didn't want to, much to the enjoyment of Jo, who knew full well that he would like nothing more!

"OK then, come on 'she, who is of pain in the head', better get you home." PJ said lightly to Jo. She got up and followed him to the door.

"I'm ready when you're ready 'he, who is of pain in the ass'!" Jo said, just loud enough for PJ to hear. He grinned at her.

"Don't even get me started, you!" PJ said, poking her playfully in the ribs. Jo winced, only for a second, before grinning back.

Tess withdrew her head from the Boss's office and called to PJ who was about to make his way out the door. "Hey, PJ? Boss wants you to pick up the lunches while you're out."

"Sure thing, Tess. See ya later." PJ said, pushing Jo gently out the door in front of him.

At the Imperial, Jo went straight upstairs to her room. PJ went over to the bar and told Chris that Jo was in bed, not feeling too well. She nodded and gave him some aspirins to take up to her. He thanked her and made his way up the stairs to Jo's room.

"Jo," he said softly through the door. "I have some stuff for this headache of yours."

She opened it straight away and let PJ in. She'd taken her police uniform off and stood there in just a white singlet top and blue boxers. He closed the door behind him and Jo pulled him in close to her. PJ wrapped his arms around her and she smiled up at him.

"Yeah, it's just going from bad to worse." Jo said softly.

"Hmm, can I help?" PJ said with a smirk.

"Maybe…" Jo replied, before PJ leant in and kissed her, making her knees weak.

"Was that a maybe? Or a definite yes?" PJ whispered.

"Yes." She whispered back. She kissed him again with a mounting passion that was swelling up inside of her. PJ broke away after what seemed like hours and slowly manoeuvred Jo onto the bed. He pinned her wrists down above her head with one hand, letting the other roam all over her body.

Jo couldn't stand the immobilization of her hands, but at the same time, she didn't want PJ to ever let go. Finally, he became too distracted in trailing kisses from her neck to her shoulders and back again, occasionally gently nipping her for the fun of it. He relinquished his grip and she began her slow attack on his shirt, lingering on each button, knowing how much it was teasing him. Soon, it was off him and on the floor and it wasn't long before she let her hands run all over his tanned, muscular chest and back.

Their lips met again and fuelled the fire that each had ignited months ago. Then, all of a sudden PJ stopped. He drew back and said in a breathless voice, "Shit! I'm supposed to be getting the lunches!". With that, he gave Jo another quick kiss before finding his shirt and buttoning it up. Jo was quite taken aback by this sudden exclamation but nodded all the same, disappointment coursing through her every vein.

"Joey, I'll be back, just give me ten minutes." He said in a rush.

"Hurry, I don't know if I can wait that long, Peej!" she said trying to smile.

"I will - I'll be right back, Ok?" He said, walking over and giving her a final kiss on the cheek.

"Run PJ! Run!" she said with a laugh, a grin creeping over her face now. He was so cute when he was in a hurry like this, she thought.

"See you soon, Jo!" PJ said, and he left, closing the door quietly behind him.

He was angry at the fact that he'd just had to leave Jo there, but it couldn't be helped. Otherwise, people might get suspicious back at the station, if they hadn't already. He'd been gone a good fifteen minutes, which was more than enough time to drop Jo off and pick up the lunches.

Once he was downstairs he found Chris.

"PJ! Just the man I wanted to see! Listen, some stuff's been going missing from the liquor cabinet and I'm beginning to have my doubts in Mr. Connor, currently in Room Six."

"Oh, really?" PJ asked, only half listening. "Hey, look I'm in a bit of a rush but I'll see if I can get back here soon."

"Okay, thanks a million, PJ." She said smiling, and she gave him the usual parcels of food which he carried out to the car. Back at the station, he walked in casually, hoping not to draw unwanted attention to his lateness. Nobody seemed to have taken note of his prolonged absence and, after dropping off everybody's lunch to it's respective owner, he went in to see the Boss.

"Hi PJ, what's up?" Tom asked, not looking up from the papers he was reading.

"Ah, Hi Boss." PJ said. "Um, just wondering if it would be possible for me to have a couple of hours off today. I was just talking to Chris and she reckons someone's nicking off with some booze after hours…wants me to check it out…it doesn't matter if I can't but-"

"Go, Hasham. We're doing fine here. Ben, Tess and Jonesy can manage. Hey, while you're at it, check up on Jo will you?" said Tom, cutting PJ off mid-sentence.


	6. White Lies Don't Hurt

**Disclaimer: **No i don't own any of the characters, i'm not in contact with any of the cast, you know the usual blah...

Thanks guys :D Keep the reviews coming:D

"PJ, you're off again already?" asked Tess.

"What? Oh, yeah, Chris needs some help with stuff, you know…" PJ said somewhat distractedly

"Right, well then, don't let me keep you." Tess said, slightly curious as to why PJ seemed a bit jumpy all of a sudden. She let it pass.

"Back in a couple of hours. Bye." Said PJ as he left the station.

"Ok, see ya." Tess said to PJ's retreating back. "Evan, Jo's not here so I'll be doing her patrol shift. We'll leave in about 5 minutes." Tess said, turning to look at Evan.

"Fine with me, Tess." Evan said cheerfully.

In the meantime, PJ had parked his car outside The Imperial and walked inside to where he met Chris.

"Hey PJ, you here to look into my mysterious liquor snatcher?" Chris asked eagerly.

"Um, yeah, about that. Can I do it later? It's just I have to go up and brief Jo about a case…you know Police stuff…discuss some crime tactics, the usual." PJ said to Chris.

"Ok, that's fine PJ, I don't want to impede on a Police Investigation!" Chris said with a smile.

"Thanks, Chris. Knew you'd understand." PJ said, before going upstairs.

PJ reached Jo's room and knocked softly. "Jo, it's Peej. Can I come in?" He asked quietly.

"Door's open," came her reply. PJ opened the door and there she was, just where he'd left her merely minutes ago. Jo got up and walked over to PJ who closed the door. "Hello again." She said as she kissed him. PJ managed a simple 'Hi' before he ran his hands through her hair and their kiss deepened.

"Now, where were we?" PJ whispered in Jo's ear.

"Wherever we were…I don't remember this being a part of it." She said softly, referring to his shirt.

"Ah, I think you're right," PJ said as he ran his hand up Jo's arm, making goose bumps prickle her skin. He kissed her on the shoulders and forehead before saying, "I missed you."

Jo smiled, the very words warming up every inch of her body. "I missed you, too. I missed you a lot." She said as he wrapped his strong arms around her waist. She was glad, for fear of her knees surrendering. She pulled PJ by the hand over to the bed where they collapsed.

"I love you, Miss Parrish." PJ said, kissing her tenderly.

"I love you, Mr Hasham" Jo replied, kissing him back. The words fell so naturally out of her mouth, it felt so right.


	7. Questions, Questions

Hey guys! Well, I think I'm beginning to kinda change the genre of the story abit…I hope there's no law against it. I don't think it's ever going to turn out according to plan…but I hope you like it anyway. Thanks for the reviews, they're awesome. Keep them coming :D

**Disclaimer: **No i don't own any of the characters, i'm not in contact with any of the cast, you know the usual blah...

The next day at the station, Tess called a meeting after lunch to discuss the new roster. Everyone was there except PJ, who later hurried in just a minute after Tess had begun her talk.

"Good evening PJ," Tess said, and the others chuckled.

"Evening? It's only lunchtime, isn't it?" PJ asked, confused.

Tess smiled sarcastically before stating, "You're late PJ. I told everyone this morning that there was going to be-"

"Oh, right, rosters. Sorry Tess, I just forgot, that's all." PJ apoligised feebly.

"Obviously." Tess said, but continued with the rosters talk.

Jo sat there, not listening to a word Tess was saying. She was thinking about PJ, how much she cared about him, and replaying everything he said to her last night in her mind, over and over again. 'PJ seems a little distracted, himself…' Jo thought, before chuckling quietly.

"What's funny?" Tess asked, curiously. First PJ comes in late, forgetful, disorganised and abnormally passive, and now Jo's slacking off too. Strangely enough, even her copper instinct didn't help her make the connection between the two.

"Ah, nothing Sarge, just remembering something…um…PJ…said…" She said confidently, but trailing off at the end realising what she was talking about, and to whom she was talking to.

"Huh? What did I say?" PJ said looking up, hopeful but still slightly confused.

"Oh, never mind, it was nothing…" Jo said quickly, not wanting to draw anymore attention to herself, or PJ for that matter.

Tess finished off her talk and everybody began to busy themselves with their respective duties and jobs.

3:00 came around quickly and Tess and Jonesy left on patrol.

While they were in the car, Jonesy began to quiz Tess about things and, seeing as the patrol was turning out to be rather uneventful, she didn't mind too much.

"Okay," Jonesy began. "What's you favourite…animal?"

"That'd definitely be dogs. I used to have one, when I was a kid."

"Oh, right." Jonesy said, not wanting Tess to start dwelling to much on her past. "How about your favourite…ah…movie?" He said, hoping for an answer in more recent years.

"Without a doubt, Moulin Rouge!" She said with a smile.

"What!" Evan exclaimed. "How can you understand it! It's so long and confusing and technical and symbolic and…and…"

"Romantic." She finished off for him.

"Well, yeah I suppose…if watching a guy go through total hell, pain, jealousy and all round anguish just to get the girl of his dreams, who just happens to be a hooker, mind you…and then for her to die in his arms…is your kinda thing then-"

"So, maybe it is, Evan." She said, smiling across at him.

"And that makes me feel really special!" Jonesy said, smiling back.

"Why? What have you got to do with it?" She said, curious for an answer.

"Well, you see there's this girl," Evan began, keeping in mind to tread very softly with his words.

"No, please Evan! I don't wanna know about the girls that occupy your spare time!" Tess said, groaning and rolling her eyes dramatically.

"…and she's really nice." Evan continued. "She's very smart, you see, and I think she's got one of those smiles…you know? One that makes you wanna smile too, for the rest of the day. Anyway, she's funny, and she's beautiful, but she's a bit of a feisty little bugger which can be a problem some times." He said, all the while, subtly looking over at Tess from the corner of his eye.

"I see…" Tess said, a bit quieter than usual. "Um, does this girl have a name?" She asked, trying not to sound too interested.

Jonesy slowly looked over at her. Immediately she felt her cheeks burn and quickly said, "Ah, I might um know her or…something."

"Oh," Jonesy said, looking out the window once again. "Yeah, you know her. You know her very well, in fact."

A lengthy silence followed this conversation. Evan was wondering if she'd taken the hint, and if she had; did she believe him. He thought she'd got the message once he'd noticed her blush ever so slightly but he'd also been a bit too busy admiring how gorgeous she looked, in doing so.

Meanwhile, Tess's mind was spinning out of control, though thankfully, the patrol car wasn't…and this was a surprising effort, considering the fact that her thought were anywhere but the cold, hard gravel in front of her. He'd obviously been talking about her, hadn't he? Smart – 'well, that's me' she thought, nice…great smile… 'could be me, could be anyone.' She concluded. But a nagging voice persisted, 'funny, I'm not funny am I? Well, I'm always having a bit of a laugh with him I suppose,' she suddenly felt her cheeks prickle hot again. 'She's beautiful. It can't be me, surely not. Ah, but she's feisty too. I would definitely fit in there…and if he wasn't talking about me…all I asked was what he had to do with it… '

As Tess was still running over the previous conversation in her mind, Jonesy, though his mind was still not totally on the job, noticed something on the side of the road.

"Hold up, Tessy. What's this?" He said, and she quickly snapped out of her trance-like state. She pulled the car over and they both got out.


	8. Together?

**Disclaimer: **No i don't own any of the characters, i'm not in contact with any of the cast, you know the usual blah...

Thanks to every one who's reviewed! Yes, I admit, there was a serious lacking of PJ and Jo in the previous chapter but I have to fit Tess and Jonesy in somewhere! lol :P

"Ah, you're here. Please, tell me all about it." Tom said to Tess and Jonesy as they entered the station.

"About what?" Jonesy asked.

"I over heard you reporting back to Ben about a mysterious girl you came across while on duty?"

"Ah, yes Boss. There was a young girl lying on the side of the road. She was only wrapped in a blanket and cold as ice. For a minute I didn't even think she was alive. The ambos took care of her, she's down at the hospital now, in intensive care being treated with severe pneumonia. We should be able to talk to her by tomorrow." Tess said, matter-of-factly.

"Why…what's wrong Boss?" Evan asked evenly.

"What's wrong?" Tom retaliated before beginning to muse. "Well, it's just Grace mentioned something over dinner last night about a Mrs Burton, a parishioner at the church."

"And how does it relate to this case?" Tess questioned.

"It's this woman's daughter, Katie. She's gone missing." Tom said with a sigh.

"Did she report it?" Evan asked.

"Well, she told Grace, at least. I'm just thankful Grace mentioned it."

"So you think that our girl on the road-side could be Katie Burton?" Evan enquired.

"Well, it's definitely worth checking out. I'll just get Mrs Burtons details off Grace and then you can go down to the hospital and see if the Doctor Mel can tell you anything."

"Sure thing, Boss. Come on Evan." Tess said as she made to go to her desk.

That night, at The Imperial, only three cops turned up for the traditional drinks after work. Tom had arranged to have dinner with Grace, so he wasn't there. Tess said she was having an early night and Ben knocked off before anyone asked what his plans were for the evening. This left only PJ, Evan and Jo sitting at a table in amongst the chatter of the pub.

"So, it's The Terrible Three tonight, is it?" PJ said with a laugh.

Jo scoffed, "What's so terrible about me? It's Jonesy you gotta watch out for!"

"What did I do?" Evan said before realising they'd all finished their drinks. "PJ, your shout!"

"Argh mate, _that's_ what you _did._" PJ said, making Jo laugh. "Ah well, I'll go and get another round then, shall I?".

"Yes, you shall." Jo said and PJ left the table. "So how's this case going with the little girl then?" She asked Jonesy.

"Well, Mrs Burton came down to the hospital today and identified her as Katie Burton. She's not talking about anything to anyone at the moment. Do you wanna know what's really weird though?

"What?" Jo asked, getting interested.

"Doctor Mel said that they found bruising and cuts all over her arms." Jonesy said, his expression saddening.

Jo then said, slightly quieter, "How old is Katie?"

"Mrs Burton said she's twelve, turning thirteen next month." Jonesy answered, knowing what Jo was thinking.

"Do you think it was…her? Or something else?" Jo asked, scared of the answer.

"Mel says it looks like the cuts are self inflicted but she's not too sure about the bruises." Evan replied. "I'm really beginning to wish I never went on patrol yesterday. I mean, she's only twelve! Why was she running away? Why is she hurting herself? And who's giving her the bruises?" Evan asked, more to himself than directly asking Jo.

"Yeah, it's not looking too pretty is it?" Jo replied.

"Who you? Jo, you are beautiful. Now stop complaining." PJ said entering the conversation and lifting the mood a bit.

"PJ, shut up!" Jo said laughing and rolling her eyes in Evans direction hoping he didn't take too much notice of PJ's comment.

"What? Was it something I said?" PJ asked, slightly confused.

"Never mind, PJ. Now, where's my beer?" Jo asked before taking one of the glasses PJ had just set down on the table. After a while PJ and Jonesy got up to play darts. Jo just sat there thinking to herself about PJ and for how long they'd have to keep everything quiet.

"I'll be right back, mate." PJ said to Evan as he left for the bathroom. Jonesy walked over and sat back down at the table. "So, what is up with you and PJ?" He asked innocently.

"What?" Jo said quickly.

"You guys have been pretty out of it for the last couple of days. Everything alright?"

"Yeah…just fine. How do you mean "everything"? It's not like we're…you know…" Jo said just a bit too fast.

"…together?" Jonesy asked, nodding slightly.

"Yeah. Because we're not. No matter what you think. Or whatever PJ's told you. Nothing's going on between us." And with that, she stood up. "I've gotta go. I have some shopping I have to do. Bye."

"Where did Jo go? Aw Jonesy have you scared her off?" PJ said, slapping Evan on the back.

"Nah mate she's gone off to do some "urgent shopping". Funny…she left right after you popped up in the conversation. You're the one that scared her off!" Jonesy replied, laughing. "Seemed to think that I thought you were together."

"Is that right…" PJ said, suddenly wanting to find Jo.

"Yeah but anyway, how about that game of darts then?" Jonesy asked.

"Actually, Jones, I think I'm gonna go head off home now. You probably should too. You have that case you're working on with Tess, don't you..and you know what that means." PJ said.

"Early starts! Whatever mate. See you later then." Jonesy said with a smile.

"Bye." PJ said before he messed up Evans hair.

"Oi!" Evan protested, but PJ was already halfway out the door.


	9. Disrupting The Peace

**Disclaimer: **No i don't own any of the characters, i'm not in contact with any of the cast, you know the usual blah...

It didn't take PJ very long to find Jo. The first place he went to check was down at the National Park. Sure enough, there she was, sitting at a bench just visible from PJ's car as he drove past. He parked his car and got out, making a bee-line for Jo. She'd let her hair down and he admired the way it gracefully danced in the breeze, flicking at the air like flames.

"Hey Jo," PJ said, sitting down on the bench next to her. "How's the shopping going?"

She smiled at him. "It's going great! You're such an idiot, you know that?" she said, with a laugh. "That's what I love about you." After a slight pause, she continued. "Sorry about before, Jonesy started asking questions and I just had to get out of there before I said something…you know, me and my big mouth." She joked.

"Ah yes, your big mouth. That's what I love about you." He said before turning and kissing her passionately, taking her totally by surprise.

They sat there, connected at the mouth, totally oblivious to the world around them, for at least another minute before Jo came to her senses. "Peej! Not here, people might see us!" she said, breaking away from his touch.

PJ unwillingly obliged, but stood up from the bench and said. "Well, do I have your permission to hold your hand?" Smiling, Jo stood up too and laced her fingers with his.

They slowly walked back to his car and PJ drove Jo back to his place.

"What do you want for dinner then, Jo?" PJ asked as they both collapsed down on the couch.

"Hmm…you know what? I'm not actually very hungry at all." She said playfully.

"Oh? And why would that be, Joanna?" PJ asked with a smirk.

"Present company is becoming very distracting." Jo said with a giggle as PJ began spontaneously tickling her.

"Present company apologises." He said and all tickling, from both parties, ceased.

Meanwhile, Jonesy vacated the pub seeing as his fellow Constable had left him due to sporadic shopping duties and his Darts partner had left him too, though not before messing up his hair-do.

With a slightly bruised ego, he decided to go home too.

Sleep evaded Evan that night. If it wasn't because of the steady, rhythmic ticking of the clock on his wall, it was because a certain Mount Thomas Police Sergeant was drifting in and out of his mind; the problem most likely being the latter of the two. He got up, dressed, and decided to take a walk outside to try and tire him out a bit.

He crept silently down the pub stairs, avoiding all the panels that he knew would squeak and groan under his weight. Once outside, the cool, night air was refreshing and he began to walk down the road. Evan loved the night time. He could hear everything, distant cars rumbling away, faded TV signals and of course, the inevitable eerie silence that followed after every foot step. Every twig that snapped echoed. Every breeze could be heard.

Evan heard a car engine start up somewhere in the distance. Then out of absolutely no where at all, or so it seemed, a car zoomed out of a driveway metres from him at full speed and screeched loudly. Evan flinched slightly from the abrupt disruption of peace and then continued to watch the car out in front of him swerve and spin out of control. Evan shouted out but it was no use, he could do nothing but witness the raging car slam into the side of a tree on the left side of the road. His heart nearly stopped. Everything began to slow down. Time was ticking through a murky universe which made everything seem to halve in speed. Even his normally quick reaction skills took a few seconds to kick in. He fumbled around in his jeans pocket for his mobile and immediately hit the speed dial number for Tess. She answered after a few rings which seemed to last an eternity and he quickly but carefully recounted what just happened. After he'd hung up, Evan ran across the road to gauge the incident. He could do nothing until the Ambulance arrived, and was thankful for Tess' offer to ring them. On the place where the car had hit the tree was a huge dent that seemed to twist the car round either side of the trunk. From what he could tell in the dim light, there was a driver, but no one else. A few people had walked out of their houses and were standing on their front lawns, or peering out of curtained windows. Tess then arrived, and very soon after, the ambulance.


End file.
